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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

A benefit party and auction for Fovea Exhibitions will be held on Friday, Dec 12 at the Howland Cultural Center beginning at 7pm. The evening's events will include an indoor projection, party featuring the musical stylings of Hank and the Skinny 3, and an art auction. The items up for auction are listed here. There's a $10 cover at the door.You can now follow the very latest about Fovea Exhibitions on Twitter.

map of NY state correctional facilities

Fovea's current exhibit, Behind Bars by Andrew Lichtenstein, is on exhibit through early January 2009. With its distinctly local relevance, this exhibit clearly demonstrates the greatest strength of the gallery which is framing essential aspects of the human condition as evidenced in real, and often crucial life events in a manner that is direct and personally affecting. Graphics posted in the gallery announce the facts that within 50 miles of Beacon there are 11 correctional facilities employing over 6,000 people (if I'm correctly recalling the facts - I can't remember the number of inmates).

This is the first exhibit where I felt the size of the gallery limited to the ultimate effectiveness of the presentation. The compelling narratives of prison life - both inside and outside of the facilities -conveyed in Lichtenstein's work are each worthy of extended exposure. Unfortunately, having these separate strains represented by just a few images each gives the effect of a series of teasers when a more homogenized selection, though undoubtedly incomplete given the depth and complexity of this very real and very locally pertinent topic, might offer a more succinct body of evidence.